The mediating role of workplace happiness between Big Five Personality traits and Intention to stay

In the rapidly evolving digital workspace, particularly in the IT/ITES sectors, employee retention remains a critical concern. With Gen Z becoming a dominant workforce demographic, understanding the psychological and emotional drivers of their intention to stay is essential. This study explores Big Five personality traits as determinants on workplace happiness and their subsequent effect on employees’ intention to stay. The objective is to assess how personality factors contribute to intention to stay and to test the mediating role of workplace happiness using Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour as a guiding framework. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted involving 260 Gen Z employees from IT and ITES sectors in South India. Standardized self-report instruments measured Big Five personality traits, workplace happiness, and intention to stay. Descriptive statistics, structural equation modelling (SEM), and correlation analyses were used to test the proposed relationships. Additionally, subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate differences across personality categories and their association with happiness and retention. The study found strong positive relationships between extraversion (β = 0.748), conscientiousness (β = 0.716), and workplace happiness, both of which significantly predicted intention to stay. Approximately 80–90% of individuals categorized under extraversion and conscientiousness reported high workplace happiness and a strong intention to remain. High correlations between certain traits (e.g., extraversion and happiness: r = 0.984) suggest both strong predictive power and potential scale overlap. Personality traits, particularly extraversion and conscientiousness, were confirmed as foundational antecedents to employee retention via emotional well-being. The findings support the extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour by integrating personality as a precursor to workplace behaviour. Happiness serves as a key mediator, linking personality to organizational commitment. Practically, organizations can leverage psychometric assessments during recruitment and implement personality-aligned well-being strategies to enhance retention. Future research should focus on longitudinal designs, cross-cultural validation, and integration of contextual organizational factors such as leadership and work design.